 RFE/RL Russia Report 15.07.2009 A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about domestic and foreign-policy developments in Russia.For more stories on Russia, please visit and bookmark our Russia page . |
 Medvedev Lauds 'Success' Battling Insurgents In North Caucasus Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said after meeting near Sochi with acting Ingushetian President Rashid Gaysanov that security forces have had "success" in their counterterrorism operation against Islamic militants in Ingushetia, RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service reports. More  Russian Rights Activist Killed in North Caucasus A prominent Russian human rights activist has been found dead hours after being kidnapped in the North Caucasus region. Natalya Estemirova investigated atrocities in Chechnya. Her death is the latest in a series of similar killings that have gone unsolved. More  The Russian Road To China Since Vladimir Putin rose to the pinnacle of power nearly a decade ago, the Russian elite has been fond of holding up the orderly Chinese model of authoritarian economic modernization as a better path to follow than chaotic and messy Western-style democracy. So how is Russia doing on this score? More  Medvedev Meets With Acting Ingushetian President Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met on July 14 at his dacha near Sochi with Rashid Gaysanov, who as Ingushetian prime minister automatically assumed the duties of acting president following the June 22 suicide bomb attack that left President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov seriously injured. More A Russian-made passenger jet traveling from Tehran to Yerevan crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 168 passengers. More  Is A Russia-Georgia War Off The Table? Mikheil Saakashvili has often raised the specter of a second Russian invasion. But in a sudden about-face, the Georgian leader now says he has no worries about a new war. The change of tone comes just a week after U.S. President Barack Obama's trip to Moscow. Did the U.S. offer Georgia a guarantee of support in case of a fresh invasion? More  Competing Visions Of The 'Reset Button' It's fair to say most observers of the recent U.S.-Russia summit concluded it was a net positive for both sides. Both countries acknowledged the deterioration in relations over the past few years must be ended and that a new approach needs to be embraced. But this means very different things to Moscow and Washington. More  Bashkir President Urged To Quit Russian Ruling Party Ayrat Dilmukhametov alluded to President Murtaza Rakhimov's harsh criticism last month about Unified Russia being "undemocratic" and its leaders being "incompetent." More  Russian Policies Pose Threat To Tatar Language A decade ago, Moscow embarked on a policy of eliminating the cultural identity of non-Russians and abolishing the political rights of the national republics. Soon thereafter, a State Duma deputy predicted that after Moscow declared victory over the Chechens, Tatarstan and the Tatars would be next. More  'Strategic' Nabucco Deal Inked In Ankara Turkey and four EU member states have signed a deal allowing work to start on the Nabucco natural gas pipeline, which is aimed at allowing Western Europe to tap directly into non-European gas reserves. The project should reduce dependence from the EU's biggest and most capricious supplier. More  Residents To Be Relocated From Irradiated Russian Town Resident of Muslimovo, in Russia’s Chelyabinsk Oblast, will be fully relocated by the end of the year because of nuclear contamination in the village, RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service reports. More  The West Rediscovers Russian Folk Art Russian folk art has never been much collected in Western Europe. But now, there are signs it is drawing greater interest, including in the Western antique market and the art world, as viewers and buyers are drawn to the craftsmanship of Russian folk art and the mix of eastern and western styles. More  The Price Of Influence What motivated United Russia and Patriarch Kirill I to reach an agreement giving the Russian Orthodox Church an unprecedented voice in the legislative work of the State Duma? More  Brits Get Too Friendly With The Locals Some British tabloid interest in the former Soviet Union this week. More  From A Diarchy To A Troika? Patriarch Kirill I has not been shy about flexing his political muscles since being enthroned in February. Now it seems he will be granted a semi-formal role in shaping legislation. More  Kremlin's 'Gray Cardinal' Begins To Tout Reform Vladislav Surkov, the man seen as the Kremlin's chief ideologist, is known for his media shyness. But he has been unusually visible in recent months, making calls for liberal reform that suggest a change of course is under way in the Kremlin. More  The American President And The Russian Opposition Opposition figures Boris Nemtsov and Vladimir Ryzhkov sat down with RFE/RL's Mikhail Sokolov shortly after their meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama on July 7. More  The Presidents, The Ideologist, And the Reset U.S. President Barack Obama's overtures to Russian society at the Moscow summit are already causing tremors. A group of prominent Russian civic activists have written an open letter to Presidents Obama and Dmitry Medvedev protesting First Deputy Kremlin Chief of Staff Vladislav Surkov's appointment as co-coordinator of a bilateral working group on civil society. More People Swayed By Obama Diplomacy, But Kremlin Another Matter Barack Obama's first trip to Russia as U.S. president this week was part of his ongoing overhaul of U.S. foreign policy. In meetings and a major speech, Obama sought to begin overcoming what Washington characterizes as the Kremlin's "zero-sum" approach to relations with the United States. More  Obama Addresses Civil-Society Issues In Russia The second day of Barack Obama's trip to Moscow had the U.S. president attempting a difficult balancing act -- seeking Russian support on issues of global concern, like nuclear proliferation, but also making clear U.S. concerns over such things as Moscow's meddling in its neighbor's affairs. More  Vox Pop: Obama Receives Mixed Reception Barack Obama is in Russia, on his first visit as U.S. president, trying to "reset" relations with Russia after they descended into acrimony during the Bush administration. So how are the residents of one small town in Russia's North Caucasus taking to Obama? More  Obama: Alaska Was 'Pretty Good Deal' Visiting U.S. President Barack Obama made a pointed quip on Tuesday about Russia's sale of Alaska to the United States in the 19th century. More  U.S. Still Seen As World's Bully, Poll Finds A new poll conducted in 20 countries representing more than 60 percent of the world's population says feelings toward the United States haven't changed much since Barak Obama became the U.S. president. Yet the respondents also told worldpublicopinion.org that they believe Obama's presidency will be good for the world, as well as for the United States. More  Remembering The Genius Of Vasily Aksyonov Vasily Aksyonov, who died on July 6 after a long illness, was one of the last Soviet-era writers to endure a ban by Kremlin censors and be stripped of his citizenship. The news has rocked his friends, colleagues, and admirers worldwide. "Readers had a special relationship with him," one says. More  Russia's Black Community And The Obama Effect Barack Obama's first presidential trip to Moscow stirs particular interest among a minute section of the Russian public -- the fraction of the country's black and mixed-race Russians. Does the arrival of America's first black president hold special meaning for African-Russians? More  Nervous Neighbors In 'Near Abroad' Ever since Barack Obama famously pledged a "reset," smaller countries in Russia's near abroad have feared their interests will be sacrificed for smoother superpower relations. What's the mood in Georgia and Ukraine as the summit begins? More  Meet The New Public Face Of Beleaguered Nabucco It's been an up-and-down year for the Nabucco natural gas pipeline. Just as work on the long-stalled project seems set to finally begin, some shift -- usually at the hand of Russian energy giant Gazprom -- alters the commercial landscape and Nabucco's chances appear to recede. But the pipeline's supporters have just selected a big name in European politics to help push the project toward realization -- former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer. More  Are Relations Really Ready For A 'Reset'? U.S. President Barack Obama hopes to kick-start Washington's moribund relations with Moscow in his first summit meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. But the two sides face serious divisions, and few are predicting the visit will produce anything close to a breakthrough. More |
